The Final Battleground
by Reuai
Summary: Anakin did not die as ObiWan claimed. Some part of the young Jedi still existed in the dark, twisted mind of Darth Vader, and for years he struggled to exist. This is his story.
1. Survival

Disclaimer: Dude, I'm a teenager, how on Earth could I own Star Wars? That was, like, over a decade before I was born!

Summary: Okay, officially I'm not a huge Star Wars fanatic like my dear, dear friend Professor Authordude, but I do adore the story just the same. I also love Animorphs, to an insane level, and it was only a matter of time before I stumbled upon a similarity that entwines the two. In all honesty, any decent Animorphs fan knows the effect of having a Yeerk (evil alien slug with a superiority complex) hugging your brain. For those of you who don't know, it's essentially being a prisoner in your own mind. In this story, we (that's me and you, the readers) explore my idea of what exactly happened to Anakin when Darth Vader took over. I figured that he and a Controller (Yeerk slave) must be very similar. So, here it is. Enjoy.

Anakin was screaming. At times, it seemed he had been screaming for the last twenty years. Sometimes he was barely aware of it, but it was always there. He could barely remember a time before the never-ending scream, but he did remember the exact moment that it began.

He could see the cold metal all around him as though he were there again, on that deck. He could recall every star formation visible through the windows as though he were looking through them once more. And he heard the hum of the lightsabers, menacing and serene all at once. He saw Count Dooku's head, lighted unevenly by the mismatching colors, as he trembled between the glowing beams, begging silently for his life.

And he remembered the sickening thrum as he, Anakin Skywalker, Padawan to Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, ended a defenseless life out of anger. That was when he had betrayed the Jedi, and that was when the screaming had started.

He hadn't really noticed it then, he had been full of fury and vindication, but some small, fortified part of his mind had seen what he had done and protested in the only way it could, by screaming with all of its might.

Back then; Anakin had ignored that part of his mind. Now, it was his salvation. For the moment Palpatine had won the use of his mind, body and power, the last part of him that was Anakin Skywalker had followed the sound of that scream to the only remaining safe haven he possessed.

From that moment on, he had behaved as his Jedi training had taught him. He used what Force Ability he still had to fortify his mental sanctuary, shielding it from Vader's overwhelming presence. It became a stronghold for him, a place of strategy for attack, and a source of defense, and the one thing that kept him from falling to Vader's power was that scream. It was a scream full of anger, of righteous fury, of fear, sorrow and regret. But most of all it was a scream of Defiance. Defiance, he liked to think, that was nearly worthy of Qui-Gon Jinn.

It was from this fortress that Anakin proceeded to fight Darth Vader. For years he estimated to be around twenty, he was subjected to the torture of watching Darth Vader perform unspeakable acts of cruelty and evil with _his_ body and _his _Force Ability. He was forced to listen to his own distorted voice pledging loyalty and subservience to the disfigured monster that was the Emperor. And each new injustice and sickening proclamation brought a new wave of resistance from the True Anakin. He used everything in his power to unsettle, anger, and simply annoy the Sith in his body.

_Look at you, Vader._ He would say, disdain dripping from his thoughts. _General Grievous had more humanity than you. Look at those legs, those arms. You're no more than a cripple. Let's see you try your hand at podracing now._

It wasn't much, but it worked a little. Vader's oily, distorted thoughts would flare in annoyance much like one would find from a human batting away some insect. But insects, Anakin recalled, could be maddeningly annoying.

So he kept at it, using whatever sad, indignant memory he could dredge up. He took advantage of Vader's connection to his own past and personality, and eventually found his greatest weapon.

_If she could see you now, our mother, my, oh my, the things she'd say. Do you honestly think she would love you now? Do you think she'll call you "little Ani" and hold you in her arms? HA! She'd spit on you; she'd toss you into a sandstorm and say "Good Riddance." You're no son of Shmi Skywalker. You're an embarrassment to her._

The insults hurt Anakin, too, but he couldn't let his emotions distract him from battle. And the digs about Shmi did the job perfectly. Vader's anger would flare and he'd shake Anakin's haven with his resounding roars. _SILENCE!_ He would cry. _Insolent worm! I shall crush you as I did the Jedi!_

For a time, that had worked against Anakin. The memories of the slaughtered younglings, the ambushed Jedi, and the devastated temple would tear at his heart. But he soon became guarded against it. He would keep fighting, and though he rarely ever gained ground, he took heart in the fact that not once in so many years, had Vader ever won. He, Anakin Skywalker, had stood time after time against a Sith in his own head.

Anakin was not always fighting. There were lengths of time in which he was too drained to do battle. These moments were spent in grief and remorse. For years he listened to the scream that had become his home and meditated. Mostly, he apologized. He apologized to his mother, whom he was unable to free. He regretted having shamed her memory and destroyed her legacy as he had done.

He apologized to Padme, his beloved wife. He begged her forgiveness for breaking her heart and ending her life. He apologized to his unborn child, whom he knew must have perished with his lost soul mate.

He apologized to Yoda, who had known from the beginning. He wished he had listened, all those years ago, to the lessons that the venerable Jedi had to teach.

He apologized more times than any being could count to his Master, Obi-Wan. He knew in his heart that he had failed Obi-Wan greatly, and could not bear the pain he knew he had to have caused the warm-hearted Jedi. He often looked back on all of his memories with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and in his dreams he saw them side-by-side once more, brothers in arms and partners in life.

But most of his apologies went to the last person he had expected: Qui-Gon Jinn. It had been so long, and he had been so young since he had last seen the respected Jedi Master, but it was to him that Anakin owed his very existence.

_I am so sorry, Qui-Gon._ He had said, over and over. _You have given me freedom, and power over my destiny. You put yourself on the line for me to the Jedi Council, and I failed you. I failed to be the Chosen One you saw in me. I failed to bring honor to your legacy, and I have failed your Padawan, who you must have loved as a son. I have brought shame to your memory and I cannot undo it._

Still, Anakin fought. He was undeterred and relentless in his battle. However, after so many years he began to feel his resolve start to wane. He had fought so hard for so long and had almost nothing to show for it. Every day he gave all he had against Darth Vader, and every day he watched helplessly as the body and voice that had once been his cause misery and suffering throughout the galaxy. There came a time, when it seemed the only thing Anakin had left was surrender.

But then, just as Anakin was overwhelmed, a miracle gave him the strength and hope he needed to wage war anew. A new source of strength brought him back into the fight with more will and ferocity than ever before. And this breakthrough came to him in the form of a reunion: it was the very last time in his life that he looked into the eyes of Obi-Wan Kenobi.


	2. Reunion

A/N: Yay! Two chapters in two days! Anyway, as you've probably guessed, Obi-Wan's dignified swan song is soon to come. However, shed no tears OBK-Fanatics, for we all know that he is not gone! Now we shall see what being reunited with his Master does for the intrepid little Ani. What's more, we get an answer to the long-asked question: Why the Hell didn't Vader pick up on Leah's resemblence to Padme? Here it is, along with Anakin's own fake scenario of life after lava.

:Star Wars:

:TFB, Chapter II:

Anakin had been delighted to see Princess Leah Organa on the Rebel Ship. Ever since Vader's first encounter with the feisty, powerful young woman, Anakin had received his best ammunition yet.

_Oh, look Vader!_ His thoughts were cheery and almost giddy. _My, my, she grows more beautiful by the day, doesn't she? How lovely, her hair looks so beautiful like that. You know, now that I think of it, didn't Padme wear her hair sort of like that once? I remember the buns were farther away from her head, though. _

In truth, Anakin himself had been stunned by the Princess's resemblance to his late wife. It had led him down a train of thought that both saddened and heartened him. He allowed Darth Vader to see his musings as he constructed a possible explanation. He figured that the Emperor had lied, and Padme had actually survived. His mind showed him images of a glowing Padme on her wedding day, as she pledged her life to Bail Organa, whose own wife must have died in the crossfire. He tormented Vader with the image of his own blow on the lava planet causing his child to be miscarried. The thought tore through Anakin like a knife, but he hid that from his foe, jealously guarding his own emotions and plans through manipulations of the Force.

It seemed then to Anakin that the brief encounter with Leah would be his final advance. Vader's hatred for the Alderaanian Princess was beginning to overcome his longing for Padme, and Anakin was loosing their resemblance as a weapon. He figured that Princess Leah's execution would be his own.

Anakin had resigned himself to his fate and was settling into a fresh round of apologies and regrets. He was just in the middle of composing his final words to Obi-Wan and the Jedi Order when the impossible happened. He felt a disturbance in the Force. Anakin hardly dared to believe it, but there it was, plain as the suns of Tatooine. There was a Jedi nearby. Anakin tentatively explored the Force for more detail, and in an instant his mind went blank. He was barely able to maintain his mental fortifications through his disbelief, for there it was, the unmistakable signature he had felt so many times in the past. He Felt the Force signature of his Master, Obi-Wan. It rippled serenely through the metachlorians all around him; gentle, wise, and sad.

_Obi-Wan._

Anakin desperately tried to gain control of himself once more but it was too late. Darth Vader had picked up on his recognition, and now he, too felt the distinctly calm energy that was Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was stunned, and it took all of two seconds for Anakin to seize it as an opportunity.

_He's alive! _Anakin thundered into Vader's thoughts. _Obi-Wan lives and you are a mere shadow of existence! You see? You could not defeat him all those years ago, and you cannot now! You tried to fight him and he left you a burning torso on the ash! This is the end for you Darth Vader!_

It pleased Anakin in some way to use Vader's own words to Obi-Wan from that battle so long ago. He felt that the tables had truly turned, and Vader roared in fury and beat relentlessly against Anakin's shields. His assault continued for many hours, but Anakin only responded blow for blow by replaying the memory of losing his limbs and flesh in the magma river, highlighting the thrumming of Obi-Wan's lightsaber and the image of his face. The internal battle raged continuously, even as Vader calmly reported his "suspicions" of Obi-Wan's existence to the Empire.

Anakin was down to his last bit of strength. The strain of holding off Vader's attacks was taking a toll on him, and even the knowledge that his Master was not dead was beginning to slip away from him. Anakin accepted his defeat and thought, _I'm sorry Obi-Wan. I failed again._

Then, all Hell broke loose on the Death Star.

Anakin was mildly intrigued, it seemed there were intruders onboard. For a moment he entertained the thought of using the intrusion to his advantage, but decided against it. After all, rebels had been giving Vader a headache for years. By now he wouldn't even really pay attention, and it would not be worth the waste of his dwindling strength.

So weak was Anakin that he never thought to watch Vader's mind and track his movements. It wasn't until a strange, powerful, nearly forgotten sensation washed over him that Anakin snapped back to attention, and his metaphorical heart stopped.

_Obi-Wan._

There he was, flesh and blood on the Death Star. He was strong, he was calm, and he was _old!_

Anakin was stunned. He knew that a great many years had passed since he had last seen his Master, but he doubted that Obi-Wan could be older than Qui-Gon had been before he died. He wondered what could have possibly ravaged Obi-Wan's strong physical body so dramatically in such a short time.

Obi-Wan and Vader were talking, but Anakin didn't listen. He studied Obi-Wan's face through Vader's eyes and saw it all. The sun-whitened hair, the sand-etched lines in his skin, the hooded eyes and darkened, nearly charred skin. He took it all in, and he knew. As surely as he knew Huttese he knew. Obi-Wan had been living on Tatooine all these years. _Why?_ He wondered. Had it been out of necessity, to avoid the Empire? Had it been out of tribute to his fallen Padawan? Whatever the reason, no former slave of the Huts could ever mistake the telltale signs of a life on Tatooine.

But Anakin did not have time to dwell on it, for both Vader and Obi-Wan had now drawn their lightsabers and the battle had commenced. Anakin's heart sank as he watched his Master fight. While still powerful and fierce, the Jedi's body was old now, and lacked the agility and prowess of his youth. Had Obi-Wan been in his former youthful body, the crippled Sith in Anakin's body would have been no match for him.

Anakin did all he could to help, tripping up Vader's concentration by playing him scenes from Obi-Wan's former battles, particularly with Vader himself. The images unsettled Vader and confused him, causing him to block blows that were not coming at him and strike at openings that were never presented. Anakin's efforts prolonged the battle, but he knew an end had to come at some point.

After quite some time had passed and both sides were fading, something happened that Anakin could not understand. Obi-Wan, while still on guard, had turned his head to look elsewhere, as if something had happened. Darth Vader did not turn his head, so Anakin could not see what it was. Then, to Anakin's shock and horror, Obi-Wan dropped his stance. He stood tall and pulling the humming lightsaber close to his face, he gazed briefly into the eye-sockets of Darth Vader's helm. Anakin's mind shook as he felt, but hardly dared to believe, that Obi-Wan's gaze was meant for _him._ Indeed, it was compassionate, soothing, and even loving. Anakin knew that such a gaze would never be squandered on a Sith.

It had been mere seconds, then Obi-Wan closed his eyes and his face fell into a serene look of meditation that reminded Anakin of the peaceful features of Qui-Gon Jinn, and Vader's red lightsaber sliced through the venerable Jedi's midsection with a sickening thrum. Anakin gave a choking sob, and watched in disbelief as his best friend, his brother, his Master, simply vanished into thin air!

As the body that had been Obi-Wan faded from existence, a single word flowed like water through the mind that resisted Darth Vader. It contained all the warmth, calm and camaraderie of his years as a Padawan, and was hidden from the Sith's mind entirely. It seemed that it resounded through the small sanctuary like a tolling bell.

_Anakin…_

:Star Wars:

Heh, yeah I know it's not Shakespeare (way less drama), but it scratches an itch, does it not? Anyway, next chapter features: A towheaded youth from Tatooine, long periods of introspection, and a whole new war between two minds! And in the third and-possibly-final chapter we shall see the one and only Anakin triumph over his greatest enemy: His darker self.

(Don't I just have a flair for the dramatic?)


End file.
